Comfort Animals:

Comfort Animal (also referred to as “Emotional Support Animal”) means an animal that provides emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship and that a health care provider has recommended as an accommodation for a student with a disability. The comfort provided by these animals does not constitute work or tasks and comfort animals are not service animals for purposes of this policy.

Access:

Comfort animals are typically an accommodation for residence life and typically, comfort animals/emotional support animals do not have rights in campus buildings. See accommodation information below.

Inquiries:

Requests for accommodation with a comfort animal shall be made through the Office of Disability Access. Comfort animal approval is for a specific animal; therefore, a student must request approval for a replacement animal if necessary. If a UNT Housing and Residence Life staff member needs to confirm the approval of a Comfort Animal, they should contact the student's ODA Coordinator by contacting our front office at Disability@unt.edu or 940-565-4323.

Accommodations:

Academic:

As stated above, typically comfort animals are not permitted in campus buildings, including classrooms. However, upon request, the Office of Disability Access will review accommodation requests on an individualized basis to review if an academic adjustment/accommodation to this policy is reasonable. Students should submit an application for ODA accommodations, or if already registered, submit an Additional Accommodation Request in AIM.

Housing:

No comfort animal will be permitted in university housing without express prior approval from the Office of Disability Access and Department of Housing and Residence Life. Students living in university housing will be permitted only one comfort animal at a time. The accommodation request process for Comfort Animals has a different reasonable process than academic accommodations. Detailed information is below.

Request Process

Comfort Animal Packet
The specific steps for requesting a Comfort Animal are as follows:

A student must submit all completed applicable forms and accompanying vaccination documents to the Office of Disability Access which includes:

ODA Registration Form by logging into ODA Online Student Services (if new to ODA)
Comfort Animal in Campus Housing Accommodation Request Form (contained within the Comfort Animal Packet)
Comfort Animal in Campus Housing Documentation Form (contained within the Comfort Animal Packet)
Annual Verification of Vaccination/Animal Health Form and accompanying documents (Form is contained within the Comfort Animal Packet)
Verification of Microchip Status - Animal must be microchipped per City of Denton regulations
Clear picture of rabies tag (if applicable)
Vaccination certificate/Shot Record
Current color picture of animal

Requests for comfort animals will reviewed on an individualized basis. Students will be notified of the committee’s decision by their assigned Coordinator by email. If the request is approved, the Department of Housing and Residence Life will notify the student of any applicable housing policies and owner responsibilities.

The ODA will also submit the following information to the Department of Housing and Residence Life for compliance purposes:

Annual Verifiation of Vaccination/Animal Health Form
Microchip Status Verification (if applicable)
Clear picture of rabies tag (if applicable)
Vaccination Certificate/Shot Record (if applicable)
Current color picture of animal

Incomplete applications and documentation will not be reviewed, and students will be notified by their Coordinator. Questions about the forms or information required should be addressed to their Coordinator.

After the animal has been initially approved, the Student will be responsible for updating this information annually with the Department of Housing and Residence Life. It must be updated by August 1st each year or at least 7 days before the animal moves into on-campus housing.

Additional Responsibilities:

Please view the UNT policy for additional responsibilities of a comfort animal owner on campus.

Grievance Process

If you want to appeal a denial of a comfort animal request based on all information provided and without new information to submit, please contact our Director, Jessica Stone at Jessica.Stone@unt.edu. Appeals must be requested within 10 business days of this decision.

If the appeal is not requested within 10 business days, future considerations of this matter will only be given with significantly new information that could have impacted ODA’s decision pertaining to this matter. We encourage you to review the ODA Grievance process found on our website within the Resources section tab prior to submitting an appeal. (Appeal Policy)

You also have the right to contact the UNT Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX at OEOTIX@unt.edu if you believe you have experienced discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or sexual misconduct in violation of University policies. You may consult with them for advice and/or to file an inquiry.